Jarrett: Gold-plated health plan for co. workers has to go

All King County employees should have to pay a portion of their health-care costs to help avoid further cuts to public services during this severe budget crisis, county executive candidate Fred Jarrett said Thursday.

Right now the county pays 100 percent of the health care premiums for county employees and their dependents. Most other governments require workers to pay a portion of their premiums.

At a news conference Jarrett said increasing health care costs is one reason the county is facing a $50 million operating budget deficit in 2010. The county will spend about $215 million on health care costs this year – an increase of 35 percent over five years, Jarrett said.

“We’re not trying to be punitive,” Jarrett said. “We’re just trying to say we have a problem in this county with spending, spending is up about three times the rate of inflation over the past few years…the County Council can’t just kick this problem down the road.”

Jarrett chided the council for apparently being willing to consider a proposal floated by Councilman Dow Constantine — himself a candidate for county executive — that would make well-paid county employees who aren’t in a union contribute to their health care premiums. Jarrett said it wasn’t fair to exclude union employees from such a plan.

Jarrett, a Democratic state senator from Mercer Island, said the council should go further and require all county employees help pay for health care. Doing so could save $8 million, Jarrett said. There’s likely no other single thing the council could do that could save so much money, Jarrett said.

Currently employees of the state of Washington and the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue have to make contributions toward their health insurance. Councilwoman Jane Hague has floated the idea of bringing King County in line with other governments.

Jarrett said the average monthly employee health care contribution from area governments is just over $41 per employee.

The Washington State Council of County and City Employees said late Thursday afternoon that nobody was available to speak about King County issues.

With the economy still mired in recession and tax revenues decreasing county departments are mulling further cuts to programs and services as the budget for 2010 is prepared.

Jarrett’s call for county employees to kick in for a part of their health benefits puts the issue back to Constantine and Larry Phillips, another councilman who is running for county executive.

Sandeep Kaushik, Constantine’s campaign spokesman, said Constantine is also concerned about rising health costs. Constantine’s proposal to charge well paid, non-union workers “offers a middle path that is fair to front-line workers making less than the King County average, while requiring higher-paid employees to start paying for health care,” Kaushik said.

“On the issue of expanding the proposal as Jarrett suggests, benefit issues with unionized employees are subject to collective bargaining. Because of that, Jarrett’s proposal is unworkable without lengthy negotiations,” Kaushik said.